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The best quotes: Congress grills Big Oil

Apologizing to BP

"I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is — again, in my words — amounts to a shakedown. So, I apologize."

— U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, apologizing to BP on June 17 for the political pressure it has faced over the Gulf oil spill. After a backlash from House Democrats and Republicans, Barton retracted his apology later in the day.

Apologizing to BP

"I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong is subject to some sort of political pressure that is — again, in my words — amounts to a shakedown. So, I apologize."

— U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, apologizing to BP on June 17 for the political pressure it has faced over the Gulf oil spill. After a backlash from House Democrats and Republicans, Barton retracted his apology later in the day.